The President's Picnic welcomed new students to the Vol State campus on Saturday. The Vol State blog was there to snap a few photos and say hello. The music group Plastic Musik was a big hit. Here are some of the folks we Caught on Campus.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Parking seems to always be an issue at the beginning of the semester at Vol State, so here are a few tips to help ease the transition.

The paving project that has been going on the past couple of weeks will be complete by the end of the day today, well in time for the beginning of classes next week so there will be ample parking.

Tips:

1.Arrive about 10 to 15 minutes before the scheduled class time to allow time to park. This will help with possible wait times given the rush to get to classes the first couple of weeks of the semester.

2.If having to park further away than anticipated, it is not the end of the world. Exercise is generally a positive thing.

3.Bring an umbrella with you as Tenn. weather is always subject to change, and being prepared will help.

4.Try to park as close to the first class of the day, or the last depending on what works best for your specific schedule.

5.Do not park in a spot that is marked for individuals with disabilities or a staff parking spot if not authorized. A staff parking sticker, or an approved state tag for accessible parking must be visible unless a ticket is wanted. Campus police are generally not lenient with this, especially when it comes to taking a disability accessible spot.

6.Be sure to pick up your parking passes in the Wood Campus Center in room 215 or 217. Every student will need one on their vehicle to avoid a ticket.

A map of the campus and parking areas can be found here. The areas in grey with a P are the parking lots.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

This doesn’t mean that everything has to be color coded, labeled, and neatly stacked, but there are a few things that may help the transition for new students.

Often it is the most obvious of choices that will help a student. “I think the most important aspect of college is to either attend class or log onto your class,” said Clay Scott, Associate Professor, Communications and Journalism. “It is essential to listen, to participate, and ask questions.”

“I have to keep a planner or I will forget it,” Kayla Barbee, student, and admissions specialist, office of admissions. “I always like to stay up to date with Pride Online, and know where to find things.”

Individual students should learn their email and log in information since this is predominantly how most professors get in touch with students. Take a few minutes and look around the Vol State website, and make sure Pride Online is easily accessible.

It is easy to learn about a large project in the beginning of the semester that is not due until the end, and forget about it a week until it is due.

Dr. Monique Robinson-Wright, Director of Student Life and Diversity Initiatives, gives a few tips. “Once you get your syllabi from your classes, organize the due dates of the assignments when you know you have certain things. Plan accordingly by scheduling when you will do the outlines, create study guides, develop study groups, etc.”

“It is essential to listen, to participate, and ask questions. If a student is having trouble in the class, approach the instructor early in the class or as soon as you have a concern. Do not wait until the week before final exams,” said Scott.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Beginning a college education can be both a fun yet daunting experience, and knowing where to get questions answered is usually a good start.

Vol State has several key buildings that focus on different departments. Below are the buildings with different departments and offices around Vol State.

The Ramer Administration Building is a good key starting point for admissions and advising. It is also home to the humanities division. The president’s office, public relations, WVCP radio station, recording studio, and business office are among key offices in the Ramer building. The language center has proven beneficial for students who may need extra help in English and writing courses as well.

The Wood Campus Center is located across from the Ramer building, and is home to the cafeteria, bookstore, financial- aid office and disability services. Campus police are in this building and can be contacted at 230-3595 for non-emergency calls, and 230-3911 for emergencies.

Caudill Hall is located between the Ramer building and Wood Campus Center. The social sciences division is here as well as the auditorium. The auditorium has several uses that include theatrical productions and seminars that are given by different guest speakers throughout the semester.

The Pickel Field House has the athletics and music departments. The renovated work out facility is available for all students, faculty and staff to use throughout the semester.

The Warf Building is located across from the Wood Campus Center. The math and science division are located here as well as science labs. Students who need tutoring in math can get extra help in the math lab and newskills center. These are also located in Warf.

The Mattox Building has the business division and computer labs, and is located across from the library.

The Wallace Building is home to the allied health division and chemistry labs.

Gibson Hall has continuing education classes, and the Tennessee State University (TSU) nursing program.

Areas where students may like to go for a break from academics are the commons area in the center of campus, the greenhouse community garden and the pond. The greenhouse is located behind the Mattox building near the tennis courts and the pond is located by Gibson Hall.

Knowing where the different departments are located and how to get to them is a good tool to have if needing to contact someone from that particular department to get questions answered.

Questions that may be asked are usually regarding something about student majors, or advisor information, according to Keith Lessert, Secretary III of the humanities division.“For us specifically, we get a lot of questions about our recording management program.”

Monday, August 23, 2010

Students enrolled in online classes can get questions answered at the Student Success Seminar August 28 at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.

"The online success seminar is something we have offered for several semesters for online students," said Mary Nunaley, Instructional Designer and associate professor. "It is designed to be an orientation for the online courses, myvolstateonline."

Nunaley said that they will cover items such as how to log into online courses, and discuss the difference between Vol State and Regents Online Degree Program (RODP) courses.
Nunaley has these tips for online students:

1. Log into courses at least 2-3 times a week. Make an appointment with yourself so that you actually log in and complete the work, as it can be easy to forget.

2. Create a study space for yourself at home where you have everything you need in one spot.

3. Make sure family and friends understand the time you are spending in your online classes is just as important as if you are in the classroom.

Friday, August 20, 2010

New students enrolled at Vol State will most likely need to access the many resources the Thigpen Library has to offer at one time or another during their enrollment.

Beyond a large variety of books, is a variety of resources. One resource students may not be aware of is the ability to check out textbooks. While this can be helpful, there are a few rules.

“The divisions are responsible for bringing us a copy of the textbook,” said Phillip Hailey who works at the circulation desk. “The students check it out, it stays in the library and they can keep it for two hours at a time.”

Classrooms are available on the second floor by appointment. Utilizing the classrooms can be a good way for students to get together for group projects and study sessions.

New additions to the library include 46 new computers and the start-up of a library blog. “It will on the library’s home page, and discuss any new library related news,” said Louise Kelly, director of library services.

The online tutorial, IRIS, has a few changes as well. This can be a beneficial tool to guide students in finding information needed.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Some of you may know me, but for those who don’t, I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Amie Lara, and I am the social media writer on campus. I have a few different job responsibilities, but the most noticed of these is the Vol State blog, which is a useful informational tool that can be easily accessed on Vol State’s main website.

Starting a new adventure can be exciting, yet nerve wracking. Therefore, for the next two weeks, the blog will have the information needed to find the who, what, when, and where of what to expect the first couple of weeks of college.

Students are encouraged to submit blog postings they have written about things going on in their lives as well. I’m going to try to post student postings about once a week to give the blog a different voice. As it is now, we have the administrative voice that is posted by Vol State and my voice, with the occasional student posting. The more input we have helps to make the site more productive and user-friendly, and adds different perspectives.

I am very approachable, so if anyone has anything going on that they would like to bring to my attention, feel free to contact me.

My email is alara@volstate.edu and the contact number is 230-3571 in the public relations office.

I hope everyone has a successful semester, and I look forward to seeing everyone around campus.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Volunteer State Community College is holding a series of town hall meetings to hear from the public. The College is developing its 2010-2015 strategic plan. In order to develop an inclusive and successful strategy, Vol State needs input from the community about the future of higher education in the area. This can include topics such as the type of classes the College should be offering, the cost of higher education, financial aid and access to college. Vol State President Dr. Warren Nichols and members of his administration will be on hand to answer questions. Everyone is invited to attend. This is a list of the scheduled meetings by community: August 19
Volunteer State Community College
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Wood Campus Center
1480 Nashville Pike
Gallatin

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Rent-A-Text is back again this semester at the Vol State bookstore. It's an opportunity for students to save up to 55 percent on books by renting, instead of buying. Currently there are about 70 titles available for fall semester, and the bookstore folks say that number is growing. Students can pre-register as a rental patron online at http://www.rent-a-text.com/ making the process much quicker for them when they visit the bookstore to make their purchases. Students can also rent online and have their books held as an in-store pick-up or shipped to them.

If the title is rent eligible there will be a rent-a-text button on the page. Here are some other tips:

Student Requirements

• Students will be required
to provide a valid credit card
at the time of rental regardless
of how they are paying for the
rental fee. This is to charge
customer for book in case they
don’t return the book.

• Students will be required
to have a valid driver’s license
to rent. This is also to assist in
collections if student doesn’t
return the book.

• Students will be required to
have an e-mail address. This
is to send e-mail reminders to
students regarding when to
return the book.

What happens if a student doesn’treturn a book?

Non-return of a book will result in the
customer being charged the standard retail
amount (75% of new price) plus a penalty
(7.5% of new text price).

What happens if a student wantsto buy the book after he/she hasrented it?

Students will have the option of returning
to the store and converting their rental into
a standard sale during the period prior to
midterm exams (approximately 8 weeks from
class start date). The student will receive a
refund of their rental fee and be charged
regular retail price based upon the original condition of the
book rented (new or used).

Can a student return a book and get their rental feeback if he/she drops a class?

Yes, rental refunds will be allowed during the normal refund
period for the store at which the title was rented. Standard (by
location) refund conditions will apply in regard to the condition
of the book, retention of the receipt, etc.

How much time is allotted to return the book at theend of the semester?

The bookstore will implement a rental return date, by which
all rental titles must be returned. The last
day of classes and exams will be taken into
consideration when setting the rental return
date. Any book not returned by that date
will be charged to the customer at standard
retail amount (75% of new price) plus a
penalty (7.5% of new text price). Students
will receive at least three (actually, four total)
e-mail reminders prior to the rental return due
date. Any book returned after the due date
will only qualify as a buyback, with standard
retail and wholesale rates applied.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Vol State student and President's Ambassador Jamie Blurton is officially in training. She's hitting the bike for a few miles each day. The goal is a 30 mile, one day bike ride in October. It's not just a personal goal, but a passion. Jamie is riding to raise money for victims of modern day slavery. Advocacy groups say that it is the fastest growing criminal activity in the world.

"It's astonishing how many people are not aware that this is going on," Blurton said.

Human trafficking includes forced labor and sexual slavery. Ride for Refuge raises money for the organizations that work directly with victims.

"It's up to 7000 riders this year. The point is for people to sponsor you and the money will go to the group we choose. It just felt like something I had to do. I'm not an experienced bike rider. I'm going to do 30 miles."

Blurton found out about human trafficking when a group visited campus and spoke about the problem. She says it shows that college is about even more than classes and degrees.

"I've come here and I've been involved in so many organizations and groups," she said. "I'm a different person than I was a year ago, before I came to Vol State."

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Hey, do you need a ride to Vol State? Would you like to find someone to help pay for gas? This is the place for folks to meet and work out a deal. This will be the Vol State ride share board for Fall and Spring 2010-2011.

If you are looking to share a ride simply post in the comments section below. As the comments build up you may find someone going your way. One note of warning: The college cannot go through and screen the various riders who post. You'll need to be careful and do that yourself. Just because someone has posted here doesn't mean they are safe. Ask plenty of questions before you agree to share a ride. The comments take a few hours to be published, so don't worry if you don't see your comment come up immediately.